Moessbauer instrumental analysis of Apollo 12 lunar rock and soil samples
Mossbauer instrumental analysis of Apollo 12 rock and soil samples, measuring nuclear gamma resonance of iron 57
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Mossbauer instrumental analysis of Apollo 12 rock and soil samples, measuring nuclear gamma resonance of iron 57
Phase analysis of Apollo 12 fines, core tube samples and rocks by Mossbauer studies, noting nearly uniform distribution of major Fe containing phases
A hydrogen maser clock is proposed for enclosure in an orbiting satellite to measure the gravitational effect on time scales with high accuracy. This experiment is used to test the principle of equivalence for clocks in space. Extremely narrow linewidth of Fe-57 radiation and absorption due to Mossbauer effect over 75 ft vertical distance was used to confirm the prediction of the equivalence principle to 1 part in 100. The fractional frequency shift of a satellite-borne oscillator observed from earth is also given.
A computer program to analyze Mossbauer data is presented in detail. The least-squares curve fitting techniques described apply to single line spectra, single hyperfine spectra, or when the constituent spectra are separated well enough to let the individual absorption peaks stand alone. The present program is not adapted for complex spectra resulting from the existence of several local environments in the absorber iron alloy. Sample problems are presented to aid the user in setting up and running the program. The program is written in FORTRAN 4 language for the Control Data 6000 series digital computer with the SCOPE 3.0 operating system and requires approximately 115,000 octal locations of core storage. A typical case with one absorption peak runs in 20 seconds, and a typical problem with six absorption peaks requires 50 seconds.
Direct measurements of the effects of gravitation on time are discussed. Using the earth's gravity these measurements can now be made to 20 parts per million. At present, there is a 1% verification of the equivalence principle for clocks made over a 75-ft vertical distance by use of Mossbauer gamma ray emission and absorption. Measurements made to greater accuracy and spanning distances where appreciable curvature of the metric of spacetime will help verify the equivalence principle, a postulate upon which Einstein developed his General Theory of Relativity.
Determination of the oxidation state of iron in the plagioclase from the coarse-grained basalts 10044 and 12021, using Mossbauer spectroscopy. The location of iron in the crystal structure was also investigated. The spectra show that iron is in the high-spin ferrous state, and they located at least two distinct positions with different coordination numbers. Some excess resonant absorption is probably due to Fe(3+), although the Fe(3+) doublet could not be positively resolved.
Hyperfine interactions at the Fe(2+) sites in ilmenite have been determined by Mossbauer spectroscopy. At 5 K, the internal magnetic field is -43 (plus or minus 3) kOe, and the quadrupole coupling constant is +1.44 (plus or minus 0.01) mm/sec. Theoretical interpretation of the internal magnetic field in terms of dipolar-, orbital-, and core-polarization contributions is shown to depend critically upon the still unknown lattice contribution to the quadrupole coupling constant.
Room temperature Mossbauer spectroscopy was used to examine bulk changes which occur in low surface area CoFe2O4 and CuFe2O4 catalysts as a result of contact with various mixtures of trans-2-butene and O2 during oxidative dehydrogenation reactions at about 420 C. So long as there was at least some O2 in the gas phase, the CoFe2O4 spectrum was essentially unchanged. However, the spectrum changed from a random spinel in the oxidized state to an inverse spinel as it was reduced by oxide ion removal. The steady state catalyst lies very near the fully oxidized state. More dramatic solid state changes occurred as the CuFe2O4 underwent reduction. Under severe reduction, the ferrite was transformed into Cu and Fe3O4, but it could be reversibly recovered by oxidation. An intense doublet located near zero velocity persisted in all spectra of CuFe2O4 regardless of the state of reduction.
Lunar pyroxenes from Apollo 11, 12, 14, and 15 were investigated. The iron-rich and magnesium-rich pyroxene specimens were crushed to a grain size of ca. 50 microns and studied by a combination of X-ray and electron diffraction, electron microscopy, 57 Fe Mossbauer spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography techniques. Highly ordered, uniform electron-dense bands, corresponding to exsolution lamellae, with average widths of ca. 230A to 1000A dependent on the source specimen were observed. These were?qr separated by wider, less-dense interband spacings with average widths of ca. 330A to 3100A. In heating experiments, splitting of the dense bands into finer structures, leading finally to obliteration of the exsolution lamellae was recorded. The extensive exsolution is evidence for significantly slower cooling rates, or possibly annealing, at temperatures in the subsolidus range, adding evidence that annealing of rock from the surface of the moon took place at ca. 600 C. Correlation of the band structure with magnetic ordering at low temperatures and iron clustering within the bands was studied.
Advanced material systems and designs require improved nondestructive evaluation (NDE) techniques for quality control, failure analysis and properties monitoring. Some advanced NDE techniques such as infrared scanning systems, laser holographic applications and the use of the Mossbauer effect are outlined. Applications of these techniques are discussed for evaluating the new space shuttle external insulation materials, aircraft structures and engine components, and precursors to crack initiation and growth.
Three areas of investigation into the properties of amorphous silicon and boron are reported: (1) optical properties of elemental amorphous semiconductors; (2) Mossbauer studies of disordered systems; and (3) theoretical aspects of disordered semiconductors.
A variety of glasses of lunar composition were prepared with different amounts of Fe and Ti under both reducing and oxidizing conditions, and also by sputter-deposition and thermal evaporation and condensation. These materials were analyzed by wet chemical, electron microprobe, ESR, Mossbauer and magnetic methods. The effects of darkening processes on surface soils of airless bodies are discussed along with the effects of vapor phase deposition processes on the optical, chemical, and magnetic properties of the lunar regolith.
Results are reported for laboratory measurements of the dc and low-frequency ac electrical conductivity of three lunar rocks with ferrous iron contents of 5 to 26 wt %. The measurements were made at temperatures ranging from 20 to 1000 C, and Mossbauer spectroscopy was used to determine the dependence of electrical conductivity on furnace atmosphere. It is found that the magnitude of electrical conductivity generally increases with increasing iron content. A comparison of the data on these samples with data on terrestrial olivines and pyroxenes shows that the electrical conductivity of anhydrous silicate minerals is influenced primarily by the concentration, oxidation state, and distribution of iron, while the silicate crystal structure is only of secondary importance. Lunar interior temperatures are deduced from experimental lunar conductivity profiles, and the resulting temperature-depth profiles are found to be consistent with those calculated for two different lunar evolutionary models as well as with various experimental constraints.
The Mossbauer effect has proven to be effective in the study of nuclear hyperfine interactions. Ferrite systems having the formula (Zn(2+)0.3)(Mn(2+)0.7)(Mn(3+)y)(Fe(3+)2-y)(O4) were prepared and studied. These systems can be interpreted as mangacese-doped zinc and a part of iron ions. A systematic study of these systems is presented to promote an understanding of their microstructure for which various theories were proposed.
The stability of synthetic armalcolite was determined as a function of oxygen fugacity with particular regard to the oxidation state of iron and titanium. The equilibrium pseudobrookite (armalcolite) composition was measured at 1200 C under various conditions of oxidation typical of the lunar environment. These data, when compared with published descriptions of mare basalts, provide information about the conditions of crystallization of armalcolite-bearing lunar rocks. Some information about the crystal chemistry of armalcolite was obtained from X-ray diffraction and electron microprobe analyses of synthetic armalcolite and Zr-armalcolite. Further data were gathered from a comparison of the Mossbauer spectra of a phase pure stoichiometric armalcolite and one containing appreciable amounts of trivalent titanium.
A method of alignment of nuclei for a gamma ray laser and a means of achieving preferential emission of radiation along the crystal axis are discussed. The proposed method of preferential emission of radiation along the aligned needles is to have a symmetric field gradient at the nucleus and a sequence of excited levels of spin and parity 2(+) and C(+). The proposed scheme reduces the density of excited states required for lasing and reduces the linewidth due to inhomogeneous broadening. Mossbauer absorption experiments intended to test these ideas are outlined.
The concentrations of aluminum, manganese, sodium, chromium, iron, cobalt, and 12 rare earth elements were determined by neutron activation analysis using slow neutrons. Oxygen and silicon were determined using a fast neutron generator. Mossbauer spectroscopy was used to investigate iron compounds in Luna 16 regolith samples from the upper part of the core.
Samples of Luna 16 and 20 have been separated according to size, visual appearance, density, and magnetic susceptibility. Selected aliquots were examined in eight British laboratories. The studies included mineralogy and petrology, selenochronology, magnetic characteristics, Mossbauer spectroscopy, oxygen isotope ratio determinations, cosmic ray track and thermoluminescence investigations, and carbon chemistry measurements. Luna 16 and 20 are typically mare and highland soils, comparing well with their Apollo counterparts, Apollo 11 and 16, respectively. Both soils are very mature (high free iron, carbide, and methane and cosmogenic Ar), while Luna 16, but not Luna 20, is characterized by a high content of glassy materials. An aliquot of anorthosite fragments, handpicked from Luna 20, had a gas retention age of about 4.3 plus or minus 0.1 Gy.